Now and Then
by astori
Summary: It starts in first grade and now there's no end in sight. Nico thinks he'll be friends with Will Solace for life. Au.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or anything else.**

It's his first day of first grade at his new school and everyone is _staring_ at him. The teacher, who's name Nico really doesn't remember is introducing him to the class and doing a terrible job of it. She tells them that his name is Nico and he moved here from Italy. Please be nice to him and does anyone have any questions for him? Nico didn't know he'd have to answer questions but then the hands of his new classmates are shooting up and he doesn't really know how to say no. Flustered, he chooses one of the kids sat closest who's hand is wiggling in the air ,"Do you speak English?"

Nico thinks this question is stupid but he doesn't say so. Instead he has to explain that his dad is from America and so he grew up with his parents speaking Italian and English and so yes he speaks English. The next question is does he speak Italian? The question after that is if he speaks English why does he still sound Italian? Nico just figures that he's lucky no one made any Mario jokes. The teacher sits him between two boys named Leo and Will and goes on to teach the class.

It doesn't take long for Nico to adjust. He learns a lot in his first week, like for some reason his classmates like to hear him say different words in his accent and that he's not very good at making new friends. It's not that he doesn't try, it's just that everyone already has their friends and he doesn't like the sports the boys play or the games the girls play. He ends up playing by himself most recesses but he doesn't really mind.

He also learns that Leo Valdez is very loud and likes to shout in his ear when he isn't getting in trouble and that Will Solace is- well, Nico is _suspicious_ of him.

Nico's dad once said that he's suspicious of Nico's uncle, Poseidon Jackson. Nico had asked what suspicious means and his dad had said that it means you don't trust someone because they're behaviour is questionable. Nico thinks Will's behaviour is very questionable. Will smiles a lot and is always telling Nico he likes his crayon drawings and sometimes he bothers Nico at recess and asks if he'll play with his friends. Nico is very suspicious of him and tells this to his older sister, Bianca. Bianca sighs at him and ruffles his hair in a way that he'll never admit to liking , "He's just being nice, Neeks". Nico wrinkles his nose at her. It's not the answer that he wanted. He thinks if he told his dad he'd definitely agree with him but the problem is that he hasn't seen his dad much since they moved. He works all the time and Bianca says this is his way of dealing with his grief but Nico doesn't like to think about that because then he has to think about _that_.

Either way Nico doesn't listen to Bianca and remains suspicious of Will Solace until Christmas.

At Christmas Nico's dad gets him a card game called Mythomagic. Bianca has to read him the instructions and teach him how to play but once he learns he's fascinated. It's only kind of the coolest thing he's ever played ever. The only problem is that Bianca gets tired of playing with him so he ends up playing by himself a lot which isn't as fun. He brings them to school and tries to get someone to play with him. Leo tries but can't pay attention long enough to learn. Everyone else just thinks it's dumb because it's not Pokemon.

Then there's Will who Nico doesn't want to play with because of reasons he's already explained. Desperate times call for desperate measures though and he ends up cracking. He spends 3 whole recesses trying to teach Will how to play Mythomagic. At first he's pretty sure Will is only pretending to pay attention but by the end of the first recess it seems like he's actually interested. They start actually playing the next day and Nico is kind of ecstatic because wow! Will actually gets it. They play it almost daily for months and when Will invites Nico to his birthday Nico makes sure to get him his very own set of cards as a present.

They're not best friends or anything but by the end of first grade Nico is thinking that Will Solace isn't suspicious at all, in fact he's actually pretty cool.

 **AN** :

So this is literally just going to be Nico and Will growing up together. I'm probably going to be the only one to get any kind of amusement from it. But if i don't indulge myself with pointless cute fics then what's the point.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own PJO or anything else.**

Second grade is a lot like first grade except for a few small differences like how they have to do more work and Nico actually has a friend. Okay, maybe the inclusion of Will Solace in his life is more of a big change than a little one. They didn't really hang out over the summer but on the first day of the new year Will runs up to him and announces that he has a new game they can play. Will's "new game" is that they pretend to be Mythomagic characters and play like that. Nico thinks this is a genius idea. Why didn't he think of it? "I'm, Ares" he claims.

"What? No way. You're too little"

Nico scowls, he's not that short. "Then I'm, Zeus" this way he can throw lightning right at Will's stupid face.

"You don't even have a beard" Will objects.

"Blargh" Nico says.

It takes them all day but eventually they decide on their characters and by the start of the second day Nico is wiggling his fingers at Will as he pretends to summon the dead.

Nico doesn't actually see Will as his friend and not just his _school_ friend until Will invites him over one weekend. Nico doesn't admit it, but he's pretty excited when Will asks. He hasn't gone to a friends house since he moved here and he usually just spends his time home alone with Bianca. Bianca is probably the coolest big sister ever but she also doesn't get Nico's games and spends a whole bunch of time studying and reading. He also sometimes goes to his cousin's house but, and he'd never say this in front of his dad, Percy is _boring._ He only ever wants to swim, play video games, and eat blue food. Nico can't count on two hands the amount of times he's had to explain to Percy why food shouldn't be blue. Blargh.

So being invited to Will's house is kind of a big deal. The first thing out of Nico's mouth when his dad gets home from work that night is an enthusiastic "CanIgotoWillSolace'shouse?"

After he repeats the question but slower at his dad's request he is rewarded with a smile and a "Sure but I'll need you to get his phone number so I can speak with his parents". Which is basically his dad's way of saying that Nico definitely can go.

Plans are made and on Saturday morning his dad drives him over to Will's house. Nico is only a little nervous because what if Will's parents are mean or think he's strange? When they arrive Will's dad and his mom open the door and smile as much as Will does when they introduce themselves to his father. If they can smile at Nico's dad they must be pretty alright

Eventually Will comes thumping into the doorway and gives Nico's dad a cautious look before grabbing Nico's hand and pulling him into the house. "Parents are weird" Will says solemnly, and Nico can only nod his agreement. Will takes Nico around the house, making sure to point out that really only his room and the basement are all that interesting. The basement has a whole corner where they keep instruments because Will's dad is a musician when he's not a doctor. Nico doesn't really care what Will's dad is he just wants to play with the guitar. Will sits at the drums and starts banging on them while Nico strums the guitar in a way he thinks sounds cool. When Will's dad comes downstairs Nico is pretty sure they're going to get yelled at. Instead Will's dad picks up another guitar and starts actually playing while singing about trees. _It's weird,_ Nico thinks, but the good kind of _weird._

Nico's dad picks him up after dinner and he totally is not sad about having to leave. Totally.

As the year goes by Nico spends more and more time at Will's house until eventually he's sleeping over on weekends and Will's parents are making jokes about adopting him. Nico asks one day if Will can come to their place but is quickly reminded how that wouldn't be fair to Bianca who'd be watching them. Then Nico worries that maybe Bianca gets lonely when he leaves. This issue is quickly resolved when Bianca tells him that when he goes to Will's she's allowed to have her own sleepovers so it's okay.

The sleepovers continue. They play a lot of Mythomagic (both with and without cards) but they also create new games like superheroes, knights, and spies. They once tried to battle each other with sticks but Will's mom gave them a talk about how they could poke each others eyes out. Nico thinks that's ridiculous because it's not like he's aiming for Will's eyes, but he doesn't want to upset anyone so they stop. The most memorable of the sleepovers is when Will's dad helps them build a huge cardboard box fort in the basement. "It's our base" Will says as they're currently playing super villains.

"Where we hide from our enemies and plan their destruction" Nico adds.

Will's dad looks at them before shrugging and going upstairs ,"kids" he mutters.

Naturally they spend the day in their base planning the destruction of their enemies. They demand (ask nicely) to eat their meals in said base and then prepare (ask nicely again) to sleep in the base. They drag Will's blankets downstairs and organize them in the middle of the base. They spend most of the night whispering lowly to each other about plans for tomorrow. Nico thinks they should decorate the base. For sinister purposes, of course, and Will readily agrees.

It's just as their falling asleep that Will starts wriggling around in their makeshift bed ,"Hey, Nico?" He whispers.

"What?"

A pause and then,"we're friends right?"

"Of course, you doof," Nico replies and he can see Will's smile even in the dark.

He'll never tell Will, not now or ever, but he thinks Will is probably his best friend.

 **AN:**

Okay I don't know about other kids but when I was small I spent my time pretending I was Sailor Moon and throwing balls at my siblings in a grand attempt to reenact Dragon Ball Z. So that's what Will and Nico are doing with Mythomagic.

Anyways.

This chapter was just to solidify their friendship. So now I can work on developing it.

I'll try to make up for short chapters by updating often. Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

He's going to go to the zoo for his 7th birthday and he's not just excited, he's EXCITED! He's never been to a zoo, but he's seen pictures of animals and shows with animals and they all seem a lot cooler than humans. His dad tells him he can take one person and naturally he takes Will, who else would he take? Well okay, he _could_ take Bianca or Percy, but he's already taking Will.

When he tells Will that they're going to the zoo he thinks maybe Will really has to pee because he squishes his legs together and starts doing this really weird dance. "Will, the bathroom is just over there" Nico reminds him just in case he's forgotten. He doesn't think Will would forget where the bathroom in his own house is, but he's always doing strange things, so it wouldn't actually surprise Nico.

Will's eyebrows pull together like they do when he's confused, "Gross" he says like he's never peed, " I don't even have to."

"You're doing the pee dance," Nico says because Will is doing the pee dance.

Will throws his hands up and sighs like he's exasperated. Nico learned the word exasperated from Bianca. He doesn't want to explain why, it's not like he meant to exasperate her. "I was excited"

"Oh." Nico says because yeah, that makes a lot more sense.

They both make the executive decision to plan their time at the zoo so they don't waste the day on boring animals. With Will's dad's permission they're allowed on the computer to look up the zoo's website. Nico ends up deciding that he has to see the giraffes. How do they even walk with necks that big and not just topple over? Will says he wants to see the monkeys and Nico tells him that that's because he _is_ a monkey. Will flicks his head in retaliation. They both decide they need to spend at least an hour at the hippos because Will's mom says they're more dangerous than crocodiles. They both find that hard to believe because crocodiles are like water dinosaurs and hippos are just big squishy things. They decide they'll have to ask the zoo keeper.

More animals are added to the list of must-sees including penguins( neither of them will admit that this is just because penguins are cute), elephants("Can you imagine if I had a trunk?" ), lions (king of the jungle!) and zebras. Then they print the zoo's map off and Nico makes sure to present it to his dad at dinner so that he knows the plan. Nico knows if they let his dad choose the animals, they'll spend the whole day looking at snakes or butterflies. He's confident he and Will can keep his priorities straight though.

On the night before Nico's birthday they get a call that kinda ruins everything. He watches anxiously as his dad talks with Will's mom on the phone. At first he thinks they're just confirming plans but then his dad starts frowning and he thinks oh no. Oh no is right because when Nico's dad finally hangs up he says they need to "have a talk" and please "don't get upset". It turns out Will is sick and has a fever and will probably, definitely not be able to go tomorrow. Nico is kind of devastated. His dad tells him they can still go and Nico can just take Bianca or Percy and after they can get ice cream. The problem with this is that if he goes with Percy they'll just look at fish the whole time and if he goes with Bianca she'll try to make him learn something. Nico just wants to see if the giraffes fall over and ask if hippos are more dangerous than water dinosaurs and he can't do that without Will. _He can't_. So he doesn't.

On the morning of Nico's birthday he makes his dad drive him to the store to pick up some super important top secret items, then his dad drives him to Will's house. Will's parents said it was okay for Nico to come over but they didn't tell Will. So when Nico walks into the living room where Will is curled in a mound of blankets on the couch carrying ice cream and a documentary about animals Will is surprised. Like really surprised, in fact he starts crying which really confuses Nico until he says, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get sick and you should have gone without me I-"

Nico tells him to shut up and hands him his bowl of ice cream. Well, he doesn't actually tell him to shut up, but he does shush him quite thoroughly. "Stupid," he says "it's not your fault you got sick. We'll just go another day." Will smiles at him but it's different from his usual smiles because this time he also looks sad. Nico ruffles his hair like Bianca does to him and tells him it's okay again. Eventually Will shoo's him away but is smiling like it really is okay now.

Will's mom comes in with extra blankets and Nico curls up on the opposite side of the couch from Will while she puts the movie in the DVD player. Will ends up falling asleep half way through but when he wakes up Nico makes sure to replay the part where the hippos eat the crocodile.

Two days later Nico gets sick and has to miss the first day of third grade. He doesn't mind though, he thinks this is kind of what friends are for.

 **AN:**

They are going to date so hard when they're older.

Did I mention that 90% of this fic is just poorly written cute nonsense. Because it is.

Thanks for reading, have a good day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own PJO**

Fourth grade brings exactly 3 notable events.

The first is their first real "sex-ed" class. Nico really doesn't like to think about it so he's going to be quick. He figures he should have been suspicious when the teacher handed out the text books and told them to take a quick look through it. His classmates who get their books first are giggling before Nico even opens the front cover. Leo Valdez whispers really loudly that everyone should turn to the 47th page.

Nico turns to the 47th page. Nico wishes he hadn't. Diagrams of a girl and a boy and their _parts_. There are descriptions and arrows and _oh jeez_. Why do they have to learn this? The teacher announces that today they'll be learning about their bodies and the reproductive system. They talk about _things_ and babies and relationships and everything Nico doesn't even want to know about. By the end of the class Nico decides he'll never be able to look at boys or girls again. He tells Will this at recess and Will just shrugs and says his dad already taught him this stuff, "it's just life," he says, "s' not a big deal." Nico thinks it is a big deal _because_ it's life and he's kind of scared of "relationships". His classmates always joke about it and needle each other about crushes and ugh. Nico wishes they'd stop, it's not like they're even old enough for that. Thankfully they don't have another lesson like that the whole year.

The second thing is that Nico and Will are sometimes huge idiots. They don't mean to be idiots it just happens. They're playing in Will's backyard when Nico decides he's bored. They've been playing wizards for days now and he thinks if he has to wave a stick like it's a wand one more time he's going to poke his own eye out. On purpose. Instead he throws his "wand" on the ground and says, "Let's play stunts."

Will doesn't even blink at the change of games. They switch gears like 5 times a week. It's nothing new. Stunts is exactly what it sounds like. They just do extremely cool dangerous things for fun because they're just that awesome. Or at least that's what they tell themselves. On this particular day they decide to climb a tree. First they scope out the most climb-able tree in Will's yard. List of qualifications being that the tree must have sturdy branches and decent sized trunk. Once they find it they waste no time in scrambling up the branches. Nico, of course, climbs much higher and faster than Will. It's not that Will is a bad climber, it's just that he's slow and he doesn't say so but Nico thinks he's scared of heights.

"Uh, Nico? I think we should go down", Will shouts when Nico is nearly half way up.

Nico knows it's not a challenge, but he wants to see how high he can get. If he can climb up he can climb down, so really he should be fine. "You go ahead!" There's a scuffling sound below him and he knows it's probably Will climbing down.

Nico continues climbing and maybe he gets a little too excited when he realizes how high he's gotten, but everything looks so cool from up there and he has to tell Will. Somewhere in-between turning on the branch and looking down to find Will, Nico manages to lose his footing and-

He doesn't want to tell you about the rest. He doesn't even really remember it at all. Later, in the hospital, the doctor tells him that he fell out of a tree and has a broken leg and he's lucky it wasn't worse. Then his dad and Bianca come in and Bianca tells him he's stupid but Nico is too tired to care. Will is eventually let in with Nico's dad and he's crying and sniffling and apologizing a whole lot and the only thing Nico can think to say is "but did you see how high I went?"

Nico spends most of the year in a cast but it's mostly okay because even when he insists that Will should go and actually play, Will just comes up with a new game they can play sitting down.

The third thing is that Nico's dad gets a girlfriend. _Nico's dad gets a girlfriend_. Nico didn't think his dad was allowed to get a girlfriend. He was already married to Nico's mom and he loved her and they never even divorced. Nico doesn't even know why his dad _wants_ a girlfriend. When Nico first meets Persephone he thinks she's nice but he doesn't know why she's in his house. Then his dad says Persephone is his girlfriend and Nico decides he doesn't like her at all even if she is nice. She's too nice and she smells too much like flowers and it's horrible. He runs to his room and makes sure to slam the door really loud.

Bianca comes. Bianca always comes when Nico is upset. She sits next to him on his bed and Nico waits for her to tell him he's acting thinks if she does he'll kick her out. He's not childish, dad is just wrong. Bianca doesn't tell him he's being childish, instead she sighs really loud and says, "this sucks."Then maybe they both cry a little but it's okay because they both promise not to tell anyone.

Nico goes to Will's house the next day and tells him about his dad's girlfriend. Nico knows Will won't get it like he does, but he's still grateful when his friend hugs him and agrees that she must be the worst.

 **AN:**

I don't like this chapter but like two of the three things are relevant later. Sorry.

Also I write and upload on my phone. Just got a new phone. Not used to it yet. It's likely I missed a lot of mistakes editing. I always try to get them all but if you see one please tell me and I'll fix it as soon as possible. Sorry again.

Thanks for reading, you're the greatest.


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